Container gardening has added a new dimension to the Cook's Garden at Cantigny Gardens and Museums this year and Joe Vartiak's imaginative combinations of pots and plants are giving visitors many ideas on how to grow more in less space.

The potential for container gardening is also shown at the Regenstein Fruit and Vegetable Garden, a 3.8-acre island in the middle of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Planter boxes line the top of brick walls and wire baskets hang from almost any conceivable overhead structure. The planter boxes were specially made for the walls and are lined with a plastic substance to make them last for years.

That basket aside, virtually every other basket has an interesting mix of colors and food producing plants. The baskets are the large, open wire type lined with sheet moss and filled with planting mix. The sheet moss on most is punctured to place transplants in between the wires around the outside of the basket to cram even more plants into the small total area. Following are a few of the many interesting combinations: